What’s Local Citation Optimization? And Why Do I Need It?

To promote your business, you need to gain trust, and one way of doing that is through local citations. Citations help gain this trust and gives your business the opportunity to be seen in local SEO results. In simple SEO language, a local citation is when your business is mentioned online. This can be in a business directory, an industry specific site, a blog, or any other local website. Local citations can assist you in ranking in local search results, but they are not a major ranking factor. However, you still want to consider them to promote your business.

A complete citation should include the name, address, and phone number of your business. Local citations do not always have a link to your site; however, they are more valuable if they do.

What Do Citations Do?

Citations assist in ranking your Google Local Pack listing by giving Google credible sources of information regarding your business. Citations inform Google that your business does exist, it is real, and what you say about it is true since it can be validated from many different sources. Therefore, it is crucial to provide a consistent name, address, and phone number on different sites as a signal that Google can trust you.

How Do Citations Work?

There are a variety of factors that Google considers besides citation directories when determining whether to show your business listing to someone who has searched for the products or services your business provides. For example, one factor they take into consideration is the closeness of your business to the location of the search.

To benefit from local citations, it is important to already have a Google My Business listing set up, claimed, and optimized. Local SEO uses text hyperlinks to help rank Google Local Pack listings in the search results, whereas in traditional organic SEO, Google uses links from a trusted important website as a main ranking factor. Receiving citations from a site with a high domain authority and high traffic can increase your ranking in local search. Keep in mind that going for quality links over quantity is the key here.

Why Are Citations Important?

Local citations are not only important to you and your business by impacting search engine result rankings, but they also help users discover new businesses.

  • Better local rankings: When information is verified, it usually gets better rankings. Local citations improve rankings and benefits your local SEO campaign, as well as help search engines verify the information about your business.
  • Increases traffic to your site: When your rankings have improved, this means that there has been an increase in visibility through search engines. This then turns into traffic to your website, and as a result, generates new business as well as helps build your brand. Adding the right citations through local SEO services allows you to list your business in different directories, which routes traffic from Google and other search engines.
  • Piggyback on business directories: When conducting an online search, the first thing that usually shows up are online business directories. With local citations, you can piggyback through these directories as online directories allow opportunities for local businesses.
  • Build customer base: With the help of the right local citations, building a bigger customer base can be a result of listing your business in multiple business directories. It is important for customers to know how candid your business is and if they can trust you. When you list your business on directories with local citations, you are showing customers how genuine you are and help build trust.
  • Creates awareness: Local citations help create awareness about your business. True, precise information leads users to learn more about your business, especially if it is new to the market.

Local citation optimization is crucial in gaining trust from customers and promoting your business. Citations allow for the opportunity to be seen in local SEO. Neglecting local citations would be a business risk because it can ruin the online ranking and lead to the slowing of your business. Accurate citations will provide benefits not only on the web but also in terms of revenue and customer trust.